Barrington Dubois is an entertainer living on the Costa Calida, in the southeastern Spanish autonomous community of Murcia.
Along with his work as a musician and wedding singer, Dubois is also one of Spain’s many non-commercial olive growers.
The olives take about a week to pick, and it’s pretty hard work, but we enjoy the exercise.- Barrington Dubois, hobby olive oil producer
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, non-commercial growers account for 0.7 percent of all Spanish olive groves – about 19,183 hectares overall. Slightly less than three percent – 785 hectares – of all olive groves in Murcia are non-commercial.
See Also:Planas: Traditional Olive Growers Will Be Protected in New Common Agricultural PolicyDubois and his wife, Julie, purchased 6,000 square meters of land in 2002, which started with only a few almond trees and has evolved. Since then, the couple planted apple, lemon, olive, peach, pear and pomegranate trees organically.
Their small olive grove measures roughly 30 meters by 30 meters and consists of around eight or nine trees that yield about 45 liters of oil each year.
“It’s more of a hobby, but also we like to grow things to be self-sufficient,” Dubois told Olive Oil Times.
He added that while he knew virtually nothing about olive growing initially, he has come to learn quite a bit over the years.
Since he began growing the fruit, Dubois has learned that olives turn from green to black when they ripen. He also learned how to cure them for consumption as table olives and how to prune the trees.
Each autumn, the couple undergoes the laborious task of picking the olives by hand.
“The olives take about a week to pick, and it’s pretty hard work, but we enjoy the exercise,” Dubois said.
Once the couple has picked all of the olives, they take them to the local mill and oversee the following stages of transforming the olives and extracting the oil. The result is dark green olive oil with a slightly nutty flavor.
The local mill takes responsibility for bottling and labeling the oil too. Once bottled, the couple sells their oil to family and friends.
They also decant some oil to smaller bottles, occasionally infusing it with peppers or rosemary. Any leftover olives and not taken to the mill are salted and consumed by the couple at home.
“Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been making our olive leaf extract, which has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties and supports the immune system,” Dubois said. “Just recently, we tried out hand at soap-making using leftover olive oil, argan oil and aloe vera, which we also grow in abundance.”
Dubois said that the focus of his small farm is to utilize the land as much as possible by growing fruit and vegetables and raising chickens.
The couple has recently planted grapevines and is looking into beekeeping methods to produce honey.
“We would love to expand as we have space, but it is extremely hard work harvesting the trees we already have by hand,” Dubois said. “And I am not sure how we would stand with selling oil commercially. I think it would be too complicated.”
More articles on: production, profiles, Spain
Dec. 6, 2021
Global Olive Oil Production Will Reach 4.4M Tons by 2050, Expert Projects
Intensive groves will outnumber traditional farms thirty years from now, and the number of olive oil-producing countries will rise to 80, says Juan Vilar.
Feb. 8, 2022
Research on Olive Biodiversity Is Key to Tackling Climate Change
Identifying traits that allow olives to resist extreme weather events, volatile temperature changes and diseases will allow farmers to plant more resilient olive varieties in the future.
May. 18, 2022
Award-Winning Olive Grower Becomes a Role Model for Young Farmers
Danijala Lalin hopes to use her success at the NYIOOC to build an agricultural brand and inspire other young farmers to do the same.
Oct. 5, 2021
Award-Winning Farm in Croatia Grows Its Brand in The Austrian Market
The producers behind Avistria use social media to find and grow relationships with clients in their native Austria from their farm in Croatia.
Nov. 3, 2021
Portugal’s Transition to Modern Farming Yields Another Record Harvest
Portugal will produce 150,000 tons of olive oil in the 2021-22 crop year. Favorable weather and the sector’s continuing modernization were attributed to the bumper harvest.
Sep. 28, 2021
5.5 Million Hectares of Traditional Olive Groves at Risk of Abandonment
A new report highlights the major transformation that the olive sector is undergoing, with modern groves set to replace many traditional ones.
Jun. 30, 2021
Spanish Researchers Begin Trialing Olive-Derived Treatment for Long Covid
A supplement made from polyphenols from olives and flavonoids from oranges will be given to patients to try and alleviate the symptoms associated with long Covid.
Oct. 6, 2021
Study: Nutri-Score Label System Does Not Discourage Olive Oil Consumption
Researchers found that the Nutri-Score label allowed consumers to correctly identify olive oil as the healthiest option among eight vegetable oils.